Tchaikovsky never harboured any ambitions of becoming a concert pianist, and by the autumn of 1874, when he began to write his Concerto No.1, he had long since given up serious study of the instrument. However, the common assumption that he was a poor pianist is demolished bothby the accounts of contemporary witnesses (who always described him as playing with assurance and élan), and by the dazzling piano-writing of the outer movements of the concerto, whose alternately grandiose and playful manner is interrupted only by the gentle reverie of the Andante semplice.

      The more introverted and restrained Piano Concerto No.2 in G major, op.44, was written in 1880 and revised in 1887 and 1888. the original version, which was first performed ny Sergei Taneiev in Moscow in May 1882, is distinguished by its profound musicality and intimate lyricism. this is especially true of the slow movement, which comes across almost as a triple concerto for piano, violin and cello and provides an effective contrast with the playful and percussive style of the final Allegro con fuoco.

      Taneiev also gave the first performance of the Concert Fantasia for piano and orchestra, op.56, which took place in Moscow on 22 February 1885, only a few months after Tchaikovsky comleted the work in September 1884. Cast in two extensive movement, the Concert Fantasia is remarkable for its forceful vitality and irrepressible high spirits.